Master of cards

Gaurav Kanthwal

Tirth Mehta of Bhuj town in Kutch district of Gujarat has added a new dimension to how we look at sports in the country. The 24-year-old has become the first Indian to claim a medal, a bronze, in the maiden eSports event at the recently concluded Asian Games in Jakarta. Mehta emerged victorious over Vietnam’s Nguyen Anh Tuan in an online cardgame, Hearthstone, in the internet gaming arena. Hearthstone is a hybrid version of chess and poker and requires players to be good at maths and probability.

eSports or competitive video gaming made its maiden appearance as an exhibition sport in the Asian Games and there is a talk that the snazzy new sport may have taken its first step in making its way into Olympics in the near future. What is, however, confirmed is that eSports will become an official medal event at the 2022 Asian Games to be held at in Hangzhou, China, from September 10 to 25.

Mehta says he’s hooked on to his computer for close to 15 hours a day and sees his future in gaming. He started playing video games at the age of eight, and has never looked back. “I think video gaming can be a rewarding career option for youngsters in the near future,” he said. As many as 185 gamers from 18 countries pitted their gaming skills.